Reid: House must act on immigration

7/14/13 11:18 AM EDT

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Sunday the House must act on immigration legislation and that if House Speaker John Boehner were to allow a vote "it would pass overwhelmingly."

"They will act. They have to," Reid said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "This is something that the vast, vast majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents support, and John Boehner should let the House vote. That's all he has to do. If the House voted, it would pass overwhelmingly."

The Nevada Democrat also answered the criticisms of Weekly Standard Editor William Kristol and National Review Editor Rich Lowry, who, in a joint editorial, urged Congress to kill the Senate immigration bill.

"We have the Chamber of Commerce, conservative groups all over America running ads telling Republicans, vote for this," Reid said. "This is a good bill. It gives us security on our border, and it gives people who are here a pathway to citizenship…It saves the country a trillion dollars. It's good for the economy. Not a billion. Not a million. A trillion."